When people go to the polls, they rarely vote for the candidate promising tax increases.

Yet since 1985, Chatham County voters overwhelming approved a self-imposed penny tax in order to build everything from new roadways and parks to better canals and a convention center.

The current tax, approved in 2003, passed by a five to one margin.

On Tuesday, voters will be asked to extend the countywide Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for another six years and add another penny on the dollar for the local school system.

Topping the list of countywide projects is $100 million for an expanded corrections facility.

And while images of a pre-trial jail don't conjure warm, fuzzy feelings, community leaders say it's logical to pair a major public safety initiative with education.

These same leaders are hopeful a majority of voters will agree.

To bolster public support, the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce - on behalf of Chatham County and area officials who legally cannot use tax dollars to promote the penny taxes - has raised $91,600 to market SPLOST and ESPLOST.

The bulk of the cash has been used to launch radio and television ads asking voters to support the taxes. Promotional material has also appeared in print. And chamber members are taking every chance to talk about why voters should say "yes."

But not everyone is buying it.

Since Labor Day, several groups opposing the sales taxes have emerged, with yard signs sprouting up across the county.

Crime and education

"Everywhere we go, people want to talk about the issues in Savannah," said Trip Tollison, the chamber's vice president of government affairs and industry. "The top two issues in Savannah are crime and education. They go hand in hand."

Tollison said from the chamber's perspective, if the community does all it can to properly educate children and offer alternatives such as technical or skills training, chances are greater today's youth will not resort to crime, thus reducing future jail needs.

"And the better off society will be," Tollison said. "This is the first time we are going to voters to ask for sales tax to pay for the resources we have been talking about."

Tollison admits that having the infrastructure in place won't "change things overnight," he said, adding, "but it will help."

"I think there is overwhelming support for SPLOST and ESPLOST," said Brooks Stillwell, a local attorney and community leader who will be promoting both taxes to the Rotary Club of Savannah on Monday.

"The main reason for that is people are becoming more and more aware of the relationship with education problems and crime problems," Stillwell said. "While they recognize we have a crime problem, unfortunately, the only alternative is getting people off the street and putting them in jail."

Stillwell argues it's no surprise the community's crime rate is high; so is the dropout rate.

"The more dropouts we have, the more criminals we have," he said. "The community is very dedicated to solving both of those main problems."

And just like 20 years ago, when voters said the "status quo" on poor roadways and drainage was no longer acceptable, Stillwell believes voters will say the current issues are no longer "OK."

Rising opposition

But not everyone agrees.

Earlier this week, state Sen. Regina Thomas, D-Savannah, held a public meeting to further discuss the taxes, which she opposes.

"We can alleviate some of the overcrowding by having alternatives to incarceration," she said. "And why not utilize the old county jail for non-violent offenders?

"This is a multi-billion dollar industry and it benefits the developers and the contractors."

County officials already use the old jail on Montgomery Street for storage and plan to renovate the facility for extra courthouse office space.

But Thomas argues taxpayers will still foot the bill to house inmates. The bigger the jail, the more inmates it will hold, she said, adding it costs taxpayers about $30,000 a year to jail an inmate.

"That's more than it costs to educate someone," Thomas said.

Instead, she wants to know how many state inmates are in the jail, and how many are there on parole or probation violations. She also wants to know how many inmates are there for non-payment of child support. And more importantly, how many inmates would be better served with mental health services, rather than sitting in a cell.

"I know we need jails," she said. "And there are a lot of people that need to be there, because we can't rehabilitate everybody. But look at the alternatives and other solutions for non-violent offenders first."

She also argues the state needs to ante up and pay counties the same $50 rate as it does private jailers for its inmates. Likewise, Thomas wants to see mental health services expanded, not constricted.

And she wants answers before throwing money at the jail.

"I love Col. (McArthur) Holmes and the sheriff, but we need to come up with more answers," she said. "Do we need that much money? We could be building 10,000 more beds and still be overcrowded."

Others opposing the taxes argue not enough is being done to reach out to the black community.

"With the exception of one African-American pastor going to the chamber meetings ... and a couple other African Americans on the pro-SPLOST ticket, there has not been any real involvement," said Nadra Enzi, a vocal opponent of both taxes. "And the people impacted the most by the tax, the chamber has chosen not to communicate with until the 11th hour."

Enzi added that he sees a "crisis of confidence" with the current school board and unless new members are voted in, he can't support the ESPLOST proposal. The school board election isn't until Nov. 7 - long after the penny tax referendum is decided.

An 'incoherent message'

David Simons, a Savannah political consultant who worked on the 2003 SPLOST initiative, said groups opposing this round will likely not prevent it from passing.

"There seems to be three or four groups out there waging battle against SPLOST and ESPLOST," he said. "The problem they have is they are not united. And because they're not united, they can't bring forth a coherent message that will resonate with the voting public."

All the same, Simons said he doesn't sense the same level of communitywide support as in the past.

"Quite frankly, I see ESPLOST carrying the day for SPLOST," he said. "There's not a lot of interest in this election and until the campaign people can motivate voters to the polls, they're not going to get a good turnout."

Simons is quick to add that has nothing to do with it passing.

"Now does that mean it isn't going to win? No, that's not what I'm saying at all," he said, adding he predicts a 14 percent marginal win for both proposals.

"If they vote for one, they will vote for another. Either you're for it or your not."